A major portion of Eid holidaymakers yesterday left the capital with a worry of returning to the city safely and on time, thanks to Jamaat's call for a countrywide 48-hour hartal from August 13.
The shutdown that had previously been called for August 12-13, based on which many had made their holiday plans, was later deferred by a day.
The shifting of hartal time has dimmed the spirit of the holidays a bit, as it threw most of the holidaymakers' plans into total disarray.
Other than that, the journey on the highways was more or less smooth as of yesterday evening. Unlike the past, this year people faced less traffic congestion leaving the capital.
There were crowds at the exit and entry points of the city but most of the city roads witnessed no severe traffic jams. However, the afternoon shower caused some problems to the holidaymakers in many parts of the capital, especially in the shopping mall areas.
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Except for the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, traffic movement on Dhaka-Rajshahi, Dhaka-Rangpur, and Dhaka-Khulna highways was smooth but comparatively slow.
"The Dhaka-Chittagong highway has witnessed traffic congestion throughout the day," said an official of the roads and highways department yesterday.
Sitanshu Shekhar Biswas, chief of the communications ministry's control room set up to monitor traffic situation during the Eid rush, said: "The congestion on Dhaka-Chittagong highway was not that severe. But vehicular movement on other highways was normal."
Situation at Mawa and Paturia ferry terminals was also less painful this year.
Operation of trains and launches faced a little
trouble yesterday as it struggled to maintain schedules and accommodate extra passengers. Trains and launches left the capital jam-packed with holidaymakers.
However, many of the passengers did not know about the rescheduling of Jamaat's hartal until they came to the Kamalpur Railway Station or other bus terminals.
Mohammad Baharam Mondol, a private job holder, is one of them.
"To avoid hartal, I planned to return from Rajshahi by train on the night of August 13, but now I don't know if this is possible at all,'' he said.
The delay in train departures also caused suffering to passengers.
Station Manager of Kamalapur Railway Station Khairul Bashar said they were trying their best to maintain the schedule.
Meanwhile, many passengers at Sayedabad bus
terminal yesterday complained of being charged extra fare.
"The Bismillah Paribahan is asking Tk 350 to go up to Noakhali whereas it usually charges Tk 200," said Manik who had by then waited for an hour at the terminal for his bus.
Mohammad Rahim, a driver of the bus service, said they were charging passengers extra to compensate the empty ride back from Noakhali.
Like other years, passengers were seen leaving Dhaka on roofs of local buses and launches defying rules. Many of them were even seen boarding launches in mid-river by trawlers and boats, risking their lives.
Officials of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said it was impossible to prevent so many passengers from travelling on the roofs of launches.
Passengers at the launch terminal also alleged of paying extra fare.
According to BIWTA officials around 8 to 10 lakh holidaymakers left the capital on waterways in the last seven days. The rush of such a large number of people caused severe traffic congestion from Gulistan to Sadarghat Launch Terminal.
Additional members of law enforcement agencies and volunteers of BNCC and BIWTA have been deployed in the terminal area to maintain law and order.
The Mohakhali bus terminal has also witnessed a huge crowd since the morning yesterday. The afternoon rain made it a little harder for the passengers to reach the terminal causing traffic congestion.
Here too passengers complained of their ruined Eid plans owing to the hartal and charging of extra fare by bus operators.
"At first, I bought tickets
for August 13 and then changed it for August 14 due to the hartal. But now as the hartal has been deferred to August 13 and 14 my return to the capital with the family has become uncertain," said Mymensingh-bound passenger Nur Mohammad.
He, however, said, "My cousin yesterday [Tuesday] went to Jamalpur from the capital by bus in just five hours, where as it used to take at least 8 to 10 hours on other Eid seasons.
Firoz Ahmed, staff of a bus operator, said that as of yesterday, the rush of passengers was comparatively less than that of the previous times.
However, the usual hustling bustling metropolis is expected to get some tranquillity as a large number of people are yet to leave the capital to celebrate Eid with their loved ones.